Obtaining timely earthquake information has become easier with interactive earthquake maps and NetQuakes, a citizen-science program that helps scientists to understand ground shaking caused by earthquakes.

The USGS is trying to achieve a denser and more uniform spacing of seismographs in select urban areas
to provide better measurements of ground motion during earthquakes.
These measurements improve our ability to make rapid post-earthquake assessments of expected damage
and contribute to the continuing development of engineering standards for construction.

To accomplish this, we developed a new type of digital seismograph that communicates its data to
the USGS via the internet.
The seismographs connect to a local network via WiFi and use existing broadband connections
to transmit data after an earthquake.
The instruments are designed to be installed in private homes, businesses, public buildings
and schools with an existing broadband connection to the internet.

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Currently, we are unable to purchase additional instruments, so we don’t anticipate performing many new installations. However, if you’d like to host a seismograph, we will continue collecting names and addresses so that if more become available, we will be able to place them in the most effective locations.

The NetQuakes seismographs access the internet via a wireless router connected to your existing
broadband internet connection. The seismograph transmits data only after earthquakes greater than
magnitude 3 and otherwise does not consume significant bandwidth.